December 12th 2024.
Gary Lineker recently shared a funny story about how he turned down an offer to appear on Celebrity Big Brother. The sports broadcaster and former professional footballer, who has been a staple on the BBC's Match of the Day since the late 1990s, announced last month that he would be leaving the show after 26 years but would continue to work for the BBC until the 2026 World Cup.
Despite his impending departure, Gary is already being approached with offers for other TV gigs. And when he was asked about his interest in the reality show, he decided to have a little fun with it. Speaking on his podcast, The Rest is Football, with co-stars Micah Richards and Alan Shearer, the 64-year-old revealed that he was approached to appear on the ITV series, but he found a clever way to turn down the offer.
"My agent sent it through jokingly, and he replied, 'Oh yes, Gary's fee will be £50 million!'" Gary shared. It was a sarcastic response, but it seems like the bosses may have taken it seriously. "He did it completely as a joke, obviously, and they came back and said, 'Oh, that's a little bit...it's not within our budget.'"
Alan couldn't resist joking that Gary's departure from Match of the Day meant that reality TV bosses would be begging him to "go on all of them." But Gary made it clear that it's not something he's interested in. "I can tell you now, don't bother asking," he quipped.
It's no surprise that Gary is in high demand, as he is currently the BBC's highest-paid star. In fact, earlier this year, it was revealed that he earned £1,300,000 to £1,354,999 for the 2023/2024 season. After his exit from Match of the Day was announced, the BBC's director of sport, Alex Kay-Jelski, expressed his gratitude for Gary's contributions to the show, saying, "He'll be sorely missed . . . we're so happy he is staying with the BBC to present live football."
While Big Brother was rebooted last year, the celebrity spin-off series aired earlier this year and was eventually won by reality star David Potts. The housemates included Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu, Sharon Osbourne, Louis Walsh, and Fern Britton. Metro has reached out to ITV for comment, and Celebrity Big Brother is currently streaming on ITVX.
If you have a celebrity story, video, or pictures, you can get in touch with the entertainment team at The Agency by emailing us, calling 020 3615 2145, or visiting our Submit Stuff page - we'd love to hear from you. And as for Gary, while he may have to slow down at some point, it looks like he'll be staying busy in the TV world for the foreseeable future.
[This article has been trending online recently and has been generated with AI. Your feed is customized.]
[Generative AI is experimental.]
